July is over and so is our Flash us Your Bag competition. We had around 50 entries via Facebook and Instagram and it was a delight to see the results. There were some great entries and I liked that some were as simple as ‘hey – here’s my shopping’ and others involved children joining in the fun. Here are my top 10 entries. I ended up picking two winners (instead of just one) and settled on the bag made into a dress and the skirt made into bags because they involve transformation. Our winners Melissa Kinnaird and Michelle Sheriff each received a $50 voucher to spend at Apikali. Thank you to all the entrants and I hope the creativity and enthusiasm carries on. Original competition details To celebrate my recent discovery of Boomerang Bags and to support Plastic Free July, we are running a promotion throughout the month of July where you can win a $100 voucher to spend at Apikali. Apikali is an eco-living store that has you covered for reusable baby and household products. How to enter Simply take a photo with your reusable bag in action and post it to the Eco Parents Facebook page or Instagram using hashtags #flashusyourbag […]

We watch our children play and try to encourage their natural interests. So although we are opposed to typical gender stereotyping, we don’t discourage them when things play out in that direction. My son loves reading time. My daughter prefers to be active with pretend play. She collects animals or toy people and plays family, complete with the ‘mother’ voice (is that what I sound like?). So, I decided she might like a doll or play house for her third birthday. Something both our son and daughter will enjoy. Our children usually receive small and inexpensive gifts from us, so I wanted to research this. I did not have any supplies on hand to make one, I’d used all our pallet wood and odds and ends in building the piggy house, nor did the local charity shop have something I might repurpose (and old bookcase could easily be converted to a play house). Local online buy and sell sites did not yield anything suitable for us either. This is what we ended up with and here is why I picked it. Local. I met the man who made it. His name is Chris. He seems to have a genuine […]

Over 3 years ago I started this blog as a way to document my own personal journey to live gently. By sharing my experiences I’ve found I am also more accountable for my actions. I really get a kick out of hearing how I have inspired others to make change and I wanted to share this wonderful message (she also included photos) I recently received from a long time fan. It really made my day and I may have had a tiny tear in my eye… ~ Brooke Dear Eco Parents I wanted to share what changes I made for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party after reading some of your posts about more eco-friendly ways to celebrate. Last time: helium balloons, store bought cardboard bunting and pom poms (all used once, then thrown out). This time: We painted and made lanterns from cereal boxes and stars from a cardboard box that I rescued from a recycle bin. Even though these won’t last many uses, we had great fun making them from what would be rubbish and they can be recycled again afterwards. I had left over paper pom poms from her first birthday party so we used some of those, […]

The promoter is Eco Parents Australia. Family members of the promoter or anyone else connected in sponsoring the competition are ineligible to enter. No late entries to the competition will be permitted. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason. Winners will be announced on the Eco Parents Facebook page and other social media where relevant and may also be announced in the Eco Parents newsletter. Subscribing to the Eco Parents newsletter can be completed on the Eco Parents website or Facebook page. It is the responsibility of the winner/s to contact the promoter within three days via the following ecoparentsaustralia@gmail.com or via the contact page on the website to claim a prize. Failure to contact the promoter within this time will result in forfeiture of the prize. The promoter reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions for a particular promotion. The promoter is not responsible for any failure or inability of any individual to check the Eco Parents Australia Facebook page for updates to giveaways or competitions. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with any competition. No cash alternative will be offered. The […]

about me

Brooke

I've always been eco minded, and having children only seemed to amplify the importance of ‘living gently’. We started this journey living in a small house in the suburbs of Brisbane. It was a few years later that we finally took the plunge and followed our tree change dream. We now own 14 acres on the gorgeous Granite Belt in Queensland, Australia and are a family with two kids, chickens, pigs and bees.